04
by Angelus1
Summary: Caleb throws the New Year's party of the century. All of Newport attends including Seth, Summer, and Anna. Both girls are looking for someone to kiss come midnight, but Seth still hasn't made his choice.
1. The Apology

Title: '04 (1/?: The Apology)  
  
Author: Angelus  
  
E-mail: angelus1317@hotmail.com (Please put "OCfic" on the subject line.)  
  
Subject: The O.C.  
  
Category: Romance, but I won't reveal who it will ultimately be - either SS or SA. Don't worry - you'll find out in a few chapters.  
  
Rating: G  
  
Summary: Everyone in Newport attends a huge New Year's party; including Seth, Summer, and Anna. Both girls are looking for someone to kiss come midnight, but Seth still hasn't made his choice.  
  
Spoilers: "The Homecoming" and the Christmas episode.  
  
Archive: Anywhere, just ask me first.  
  
Disclaimer: Seth, Summer, Anna, Ryan, Marissa, Kirsten, Sandy, Julie, Caleb, Luke, etc. are all property of Fox television, College Hill Pictures, Josh Schwartz, etc. Sadly, the only thing benefitting from this is my brain in creating more Adam Brody fantasies.  
  
Author's notes: This is just basically an alternate episode to the New Year's episode, so continuity still stands - it's completely in canon. This may be the only time ever. The only thing I did change is that Hailey never showed up. She's obnoxious and badly written, and I'm not going to waste my time writing for her. Same goes for Marissa, who I used to like, but now just gets on my nerves. So, sorry to all the RM fans out there. This is strictly a Seth-centered story.  
  
Dedication: To Elizabeth. It's about time we hooked you into something like this.  
  
~*~  
  
Orange County was rocking. In all his life, Seth Cohen didn't think he'd ever seen a bigger party. And living in Newport Beach, he'd seen some doozies. It seemed like the whole state had turned out.  
  
The party was being held at the Sheldrake, the renovated home of one of Newport Beach's founding fathers that was often rented out to various groups and organizations. To get in the Christmas spirit, the backyard had been decorated, too. Which was a good thing, because nearly all the guests had spilled out onto the lawn; even the grandiose mansion couldn't hold all the people that had shown up.  
  
Seth was having severe pre-Ryan flashbacks, because here he was hiding in a corner trying to disappear. His absentee best friend had slipped inside a little while ago for some "quality time" with Marissa. They'd probably be in there all night. And as for his only other friends...well, he hadn't seen Summer or Anna yet, and he refused to hang out with his parents all night. Cool as they may be, he had standards. Granted, not very high ones, but standards nonetheless.   
  
At the thought of Summer and Anna, Seth reflexively looked around. There were his parents, Marissa's dad, Summer's stepmom (at the bar, of course), a very sullen-looking Luke and his parents, a few kids he knew vaguely from school...and Julie Cooper, presiding over it all, hanging onto Caleb Nichol's arm. The thought of his beloved grandfather with that witch made him sick. Seth had always taken it for granted that he had such wonderful, loving parents, faithfully devoted to both him and each other. When he saw someone like Julie Cooper, who had absolutely no business having any children at all, let alone a wonderful girl like Marissa, he just didn't understand how she could live with herself.  
  
As Caleb and Julie schmoozed, Seth wandered from room to room, tugging constantly at his suit. He'd never liked these things; they felt like straitjackets. And they itched. Wandering gave him something to do, but it didn't make him feel like any less of a loser.  
  
As Seth wandered, he kept his eyes still peeled for Summer and Anna. It was funny - it had almost become habit my now. Because even though he was looking for them, he had no earthly idea what he was going to say or do if he found them. He hadn't spoken to either girl since the day after Christmas; since they had both rejected his offer of friendship.  
  
Just as he was about to head inside, his grandfather spotted him.  
  
"Seth!" he exclaimed. "Aren't you going to come say hello?!" Seth immediately turned on his heel, pasting a false smile on his face. He was still five feet away from him and he could smell the alcohol on his breath.  
  
"Hey, Grandpa," he said warily. Like most people, his grandfather on alcohol was wildly unpredictable. He could be cheesily happy one minute and raging mad the next. At the moment, it appeared to be the former, but Seth was determined to get out of there ASAP before that changed.  
  
"Where's your date?" Caleb asked. Seth grimaced. He could be the smartest kid in school - he practically was - but that would never quite be enough to live up to Nichol standards. He had to have the women, too. It was the same thing on the Cohen side - just because he was never the lady-killer that his dad was. Perhaps, Seth mused, they made it their goal in life to turn him into the black sheep of the family. It was an interesting theory, and certainly a very possible one at that.  
  
"I don't have a date, Grandpa," he admitted.  
  
"Really?" Caleb chuckled. "Chased 'em away already? Whatever happened to that little blonde from Thanksgiving? Or the other one - the one with the big brown eyes?"  
  
Lovely. Way to kick a guy when he was down. He'd give Caleb the benefit of the doubt, though; he had no way of knowing what had happened with Summer and Anna. He was a just a bastard by nature.  
  
He was in the process of forming an excuse when Caleb clamped a large, meaty hand on his shoulder. "There they are!" he exclaimed. As if he had never been happier in his life.  
  
And, sure enough, there were Summer and Anna, sitting right next to each other but not speaking. Seth gulped as Caleb slapped him on the back.  
  
"Go on," he insisted. "Chat up the ladies. You don't want to spend the whole evening with this old geezer, do you?"  
  
"Uh..."  
  
"Go." Who was he to argue with that logic? With Grandpa Nichol's gaze at his back, Seth strode over to Summer and Anna. Neither girl would even glance his way. And though they clearly had seen him approaching, they continued to pointedly ignore him.  
  
Oh, god.  
  
"Hey, Summer," he squeaked. "Anna."  
  
"Hello," Summer replied coolly, still gazing out onto the ocean. Anna remained silent.  
  
Seth had never been so petrified in his life.  
  
"Okay, look," he said. "What I did was wrong. I know that. I apologized, remember? But, apparently, that wasn't good enough. So I'll do it again. I'm *sorry*, okay? I care about you both, and that's why I don't want to lose you. As friends, or...or as anything else. This was the only way I can think of where no one gets hurt. Except, of course, me, but that doesn't seem to matter much to either of you."  
  
They didn't budge. Well, not quite. But Summer's eyes softened just a tad, and Anna's flicked sideways to look at him for a split second. He was making them feel guilty. Good. It wasn't much, but it was something. It meant that he still had a chance.  
  
"I don't know where I stand with either of you," Seth continued, on a roll and not about to stop until he was finished. "I don't know if you're avoiding me because you're mad at me, or because you think I'm mad at you, or some other reason. So for now, I'm gonna go, do my wallflower thing again. If you need me...I'll be here."  
  
And with that, he left fate in their hands. 


	2. The Decision

See Me (2/?: The Decision)  
Angelus angelus1317@hotmail.com  
See first chapter for disclaimer, etc.  
  
~*~  
  
Immediately after Seth's second apology, Summer and Anna went their separate ways. They had never truly been friends; their quasi-friendship had been built purely on making Seth Cohen jealous. And, now that they were back to competing for his attentions again...their friendship was once again rendered...unnecessary. While Summer headed off to the garden, Anna found herself following directly after Seth.  
  
Anna Stern hadn't had many guys in her life. There was her father, and her brother, and...well, actually, that was about it. She had always had plenty of guyfriends, though. More of them than girlfriends, actually. But when her tastes ran to comic books and the Sex Pistols rather than shopping and Shania Twain, that was pretty much a given.   
  
In the dating department, however, her options had always been slim to non-existent. Although she got along well with them, she had no interest in going out with the comic book geeks that she invariably met at conventions, whose hobbies consisted of sitting in front of a computer all day downloading Princess Leia porn. And regular guys found her too masculine, too intimidating...she didn't really know. They obviously found her too something, though, because she had only had two actual boyfriends in her seventeen years. Both relationships had lasted a few weeks at best. Fun while they lasted, but ultimately nothing special.  
  
Most guys, upon meeting her, immediately pushed Anna into the "friends only" category. Not Seth Cohen. Maybe it was because he, too, was used to rejection. He had the potential to be one hell of a guy; he was smart, witty, sweet, and simply adorable. All he needed to do was realize it himself.  
  
But Anna had known plenty of sweet, witty, intelligent guys; cute ones, even. There was something different about Seth, though. It was in the dimpled, lopsided grin that was practically his trademark; in the sparkle of his eyes when he got excited about something; in the touch of his hand on her arm and his lips on hers.  
  
Anna has never been in love before. She wasn't quite sure exactly how it was supposed to feel. But if the sweaty palms and fluttering stomach and buckling knees and all-around melty feelings weren't...well, then, she wasn't quite sure she'd ever know.  
  
Anna Stern was pretty damn sure she was in love with Seth Cohen. And tonight she was going to tell him, once and for all. 


	3. The Defeat

See Me (3/?: The Defeat)  
Angelus angelus1317@hotmail.com  
See first chapter for disclaimer, etc.  
  
~*~  
  
The garden was gorgeous, Summer mused. It smelled incredible, too.  
  
She had always loved flowers. It was such a girly thing, but it was true. Roses, jasmine, daisies, violets...Easter had always been her favorite holiday for that very reason. She didn't come from a very overly religious family, and they didn't have any special traditions for the holiday, but the house was always filled with flowers nonetheless, and Summer would wake up that spring Sunday to the most wonderful smell on earth.  
  
The scent comforted her. It told her that even though some things change...some things do remain the same. Every year, her father still sent her a dozen yellow roses for her birthday. To most people, they would have been just flowers. But to Summer, they were a symbol; a symbol that, after everything, her daddy still loved her. And there were times in a child's life - or a teenager's, for that matter - when that meant everything in the world.  
  
In addition to its beauty, the garden was quiet. That was the main reason Summer had come out here - she needed some alone time to think.  
  
Dating had always been a big deal in Summer's world. She participated, because it was expected of her. But really, it was a burden. It had never been exceptionally exciting. You swap spit with one jock in between passing periods and let him grope you on the way to classes for a few weeks or so, then you switched jocks. Where was the fun her friends were always talking about? She heard so many of them exclaim about how they were in love with this guy or that, but then the next day they broke up. Had they really fooled themselves into thinking it was for, or was their idea of love just so diluted that they mistook it for a guy who made out with them a few times and said pretty words to get into their pants?  
  
Because she was rich and pretty, Summer had been thrown into that stereotype. She was expected to be airheaded and callous and easy. She wasn't, really, at heart. But it was much easier to play along; be the airhead, the bitch. It was easier to make friends, harder to get hurt. And wasn't that the unspoken goal of all high school students?  
  
When she let the shallow outer shell melt away - when she was alone with her mom or her dad or Marissa, or just by herself, sometimes she thought about love; about whether she would ever feel the real thing. But it was hard to do while maintaining her shoolday persona. Because how could anyone ever truly fall in love with her if they didn't know the real her?  
  
Sometimes, though, she let the mask slip unintentionally. Like when she was with Seth Cohen. No matter how hard she tried, he always managed to get under her skin. And what infuriated her was that he didn't even seem to be trying. All he did was flash his dimpled, uber-charming grin her way, and she was sunk. How the hell did he do that? How did he slip past her defenses without a word? How did he make her feel worthy, loved understood, like she didn't need that mask after all? And, above all, how did he leave a piece of himself behind, leaving her feeling not quite full when he wasn't around?  
  
Summer had always admired people like Seth; people who lived without a mask day in and day out. Sure, he was generally looked upon as the outcast, but that didn't stop him. He didn't seem to mind being the guy in Converse high-tops in the line of Doc Martens and Jimmy Choos. He was stronger than the rest of them, because he could let it roll off of him. Summer wasn't like that. She needed companionship, reassurance. Seth got those at home. Summer wasn't quite so lucky. She had Marissa, she sort of had Cohen and Chino...and that was about it for her true friends. Holly and the rest of them weren't worth much, but they were better than nothing.  
  
When she really thought about it, she didn't deserve him. He deserved someone who was secure and real and...not her. It pained her to think it, but...Anna was truly the better choice for him. She was interested in the same things, she didn't care what people thought about her...it was like they were made for each other.  
  
Which was why, when she gazed to her left and saw, through the bushes, Seth and Anna on the front lawn, a split-second away from a kiss, she didn't do any of the typical Summer things to do; she didn't get mad, she didn't get even, she didn't try to break them up. She just watched.  
  
She wished she could give him more than she had. She wished she could give him that ideal of a girl he so desperately wanted. She wished she could somehow make it up to him, all those years he had wasted pining after her.  
  
"I'm sorry," she whispered as Anna's lips touched his. 


	4. The Epiphany

See Me (4/?: The Epiphany)  
Angelus angelus1317@hotmail.com  
See first chapter for disclaimer, etc.  
  
~*~  
  
Seth Cohen could probably count on one hand the number of times in his life he had been rendered speechless. Hell, he probably didn't even need a whole hand. Words had never been a problem for him; if he couldn't think of the right ones, he could still open his mouth and words would come out. Maybe not the most appropriate ones, maybe not the most coherent ones, but words nonetheless.  
  
Times like these, however, he just could not seem to make a peep; times like when his best friend was standing in front of him, her eyes big and blue, professing her very un-friend-like feelings towards him. Well, maybe it wasn't the feelings themselves; no, he'd known those were there. It was her casual tossing around of the words "I love you" that petrified him.  
  
She loved him? She...loved him. The information, those three little words...they were alot to process. Only trouble was, he didn't even know how to begin processing them. Did he love her? He tried to imagine himself holding her hand, kissing her lips...he could imagine them easily, but the problem was that he just couldn't bring any non-platonic feelings to the surface.   
  
Anna was hot. He wouldn't deny her that. She was also sweet and smart and funny and an incredible kisser. Plus, the fact that she was into him immediately made her much more attractive. But at the end of the day, well...  
  
She wasn't Summer. No matter how many times Ryan reminded Seth that there were, in fact, other fish in the sea, he was still head over heels for Summer Roberts. You didn't just stop loving someone - especially not after more than a decade. So she wasn't perfect, and she wasn't exactly right for him...but something had made him fall in love with her so very long ago, and as long as she was going to be around him, that something would still be there. *She* would be there. And at the end of the day, right or wrong, Seth Cohen was in love with Summer Roberts. He cared for Anna deeply, but he wasn't going to let himself get involved with her just because she loved him. Especially not now, when there was the possibility that something could be happening between Summer and himself. He just couldn't lead her on like that.  
  
"Anna..." he began. She cocked her head to the side and gave him that *look* - the one where she seemed to look right through him.  
  
"Don't," she insisted.  
  
"But..."  
  
"No. I know what's coming. I'm not stupid, Seth."  
  
"There's no way to sugar-coat what I'm going to say, and even if there was, I don't think you'd want me to. So I'm just going to say it: I'm in love with Summer. I know that's the last thing you wanted to hear, but I can't help it. I didn't mean to lead you on in any way - I wasn't sure of it myself until tonight. So, if that helps any, I finally made a choice. That's what you guys have been wanting me to do since day one. Someone had to get hurt, you knew that. I didn't want it to be you - I didn't want it to be anybody, but that's just not possible. I know you're going to be mad at me, but on the bright side, there's no more confusion. I still love you very much. I want you to know that, whether you choose to speak to me after this or not."  
  
Anna was silent a moment, her chin tucked to her chest. When she looked up, her eyes were wide and shining with tears, and Seth had a moment of severe mental masochism. He had never seen her like this - vulnerable. Hurt. To think that he was the one who had caused it...  
  
"You're right," she said, so soft it was almost a whisper, and he had to lean closer to hear her. "On several counts. You can't change what your heart wants. Not ever. It just gradually wears off. So yeah, I'm gonna be mad at you. You can't expect me not to be. I probably won't be able to talk to you." Seth hung his head. Leaning forward, he rested his forehead on Anna's shoulder, and rested his hands lightly on her waist. A parting embrace.  
  
"For about a week," Anna continued. "Then I'm gonna get bored and need to kick someone's ass at Final Fantasy. And I'll miss your jokes and your smile and your horrible fashion sense..."  
  
Sensing where this was going, Seth pulled back so that he could look at her. "There's no need to stoop to the 'Your Mama' level," he teased, in reference to the clothes comment. She smacked him lightly on the arm.  
  
"Shh!" she commanded. "I'm not done. I'm going to hate you. And then I'm going to miss you. And then I'm going to hate myself for missing you. And then I'm going to hate you some more, and I'm going to hate her, too. But I'll get over it. It'll just take time. 'Cuz while I do, I'm gonna be a mess. Crying, yelling at you for no reason. I don't take things lightly - you know this about me by now. Are you prepared to deal with that?"  
  
She looked him straight in the eye. He knew what the question really meant; it meant: "Will you grovel and let me insult your girlfriend behind her back?" It meant "Will you still hang out with me just as much as you used to?" It meant "Will you still make me feel like you need me?" And the answer, of course, was:  
  
"Ready, willing, and able." Anna was something special. He wasn't willing to let her slip away over something as stupid as who he was dating. Because then where would he be if he and Summer broke up (assuming they were going to get together in the first place)? Ryan was awesome, but he was no relationship expert. He wasn't the person to go to if he needed a shoulder to cry on. He wanted Anna to be that person. And he wanted to be that person for her. He wanted everything they already had, minus the kissing.  
  
Seth hugged Anna tightly to him. She hugged him right back. And when she let go, she just looked at him. She didn't say a thing as she turned and walked away. But he could let her. Because he knew she'd come back.  
  
Seth made his way back into the throng of people in search of Summer. 


	5. The Dance

See Me (5/?: The Dance)  
Angelus angelus1317@hotmail.com  
See first chapter for disclaimer, etc.  
  
Author's Notes: I was listening to Mazzy Star's "Into Dust" while I wrote this, and it's such gorgeous music that I started imagining it as the song they were dancing to. Die-hard fans will recognize it as the music that was playing when Ryan was carrying Marissa out of the alley in "The Escape".  
  
~*~  
  
Seth tore through the party as if his life depended on it. Well, his love life anyway. He just had this funky feeling in his gut that she was going to leave. And if he didn't get this all off of his chest tonight...he didn't think he'd ever be able to.  
  
"Sorry," he muttered as he bumped into someone coming out of the restroom. In his haste, he didn't notice it was Summer until he had already walked a few steps past her. Spinning on his heel, he turned back and grabbed her arm. "Summer!" he exclaimed breathlessly.  
  
She was a vision of loveliness. As long as Seth had known her, she had always taken pride in wearing the tightest, lowest-cut, most daring outfits. And while, being male and all, he certainly appreciated the choices from a purely aesthetic standpoint...seeing her like this drove him even crazier. She was in a long, strapless black gown that could have been ripped right off of a "Breakfast at Tiffany's" Audrey Hepburn; in fact, she even had the pearls and the gloves. All that was missing was the cigarette holder, but Seth was pretty sure he could live without that. How had he have missed all of this when he was talking to her earlier?  
  
"Cohen," she greeted him shortly, turning to leave. But Seth kept his grip on her arm. She looked back at him, surprised, and Seth could practically hear his inner Anna congratulating him. "Confidence," she was always saying. He was making progress. "What do you think you're doing?" she asked, her voice dripping with contempt. He was about to let go when he heard that little voice in his head again.   
  
"Would you like to dance?" he asked. She just looked at him like he had sprouted three heads. He saw her mouth twist into a grimace and open to spew out some sort of insult, but then, almost as if she had thought better of it, she dropped her head, her eyes on the floor.  
  
"No, thanks," she said. "I have to be going." But he wasn't letting her go that easily.  
  
"I promise I won't embarrass you," he said, flashing her a grin. "I can get my groove thing on with the best of them." Summer raised one perfectly-manicured eyebrow, and Seth chuckled sheepishly. "Allright," he conceded. "My mother made me take ballroom dancing lessons freshman year. But I'm pretty darn good, if I do say so myself." Unable to help herself, Summer smiled. How was she supposed to be all stone-faced when he was looking at her like that?  
  
It was his fault. She blamed it on the mischievous sparkle in his eye, and on his oh-so-charming grin, and on his lips that she knew from experience were soft and sweet and warm... It was his fault.  
  
And that was what she kept telling herself as she let him lead her out onto the dance floor. They weren't the only teenage couple there, but they were one of the few. Seth halted, turned to her, and extended a hand.  
  
"Milady?" Summer grinned, and let him pull her against him.  
  
This was certainly a change. What had happened to the stumbling, bumbling, babbling Seth Cohen? Not that she didn't like this one just as much. Better, in fact. This newfound confidence made him seem...older. More mature. Not so much the grungy skateboard dude playing video games. And *damn* could he work a tux...  
  
The second her body made contact with his was the second Summer stopped breathing. Who would have guessed that under all those baggy jeans and novelty tee-shirts was a hard, lean body most guys would be jealous of? He had muscles. That was a surprise in itself. And not huge, ape ones; he was cut, not bulky. She had felt some of it on Thanksgiving, but not like this. Even though they were only dancing, it felt...more intimate. Her whole body was pressed against his, and it was humming; singing; begging him to touch her.   
  
And touch her he did. His right arm went around her waist, while his left hand gripped hers. He didn't try to feel her up or sneak a peek down the front of her dress; he just held her, his cheek pressed against her temple.  
  
And they danced.  
  
The song was probably, in reality, no longer than four or five minutes. But to Seth, it felt like hours. Summer's body was tiny in his arms, but it still felt like she was all around him. Her hand on his shoulder, her ear brushing his lips, her perfume wafting into his nose. He forced himself to focus on not tripping over his own feet. Box step; one-two-three-four, one-two-three-four, one-two-three-four...It was almost too good to be true. Which was why Seth felt himself gripping her even tighter; as if she would turn tail and run out the door any second.   
  
When the music finally ended, Seth resigned himself to finally letting her go. But when he took a step backwards, his arm still around her, his hand still holding hers, he found her looking up at him, her eyes wide and dark. Her eyes drifted down for just a second to his lips, and could have sworn he felt her lean forward to kiss him. But then, abruptly she pulled back.  
  
"Thanks for the dance, Cohen," she said. She turned.  
  
And walked away from him. Again. But this time, she wasn't going to get away with it. 


	6. The Confrontation

'04 (6/?: The Confrontation)  
Angelus angelus1317@hotmail.com  
See first chapter for disclaimer, etc.  
  
Author's Notes: It may be quite awhile before I finish this 'fic. Sorry to those who were waiting for its completion. In the meantime, however, I have several other multiple-part stories that are even better, so check those out.  
  
~*~  
  
This time, Seth was right at Summer's heels when she tried running from him. She'd pissed him off, big-time. He was sick of putting up with her shit, and it was about time somebody - anybody called her on it.  
  
"What is *with* you?!" he exclaimed, maneuvering his way through the throng of people. "My god! You run so hot and cold. How the hell is anyone supposed to keep up with you? On minute you're kissing me, the next minute you won't even look me in the eye. One minute we're dancing, the next minute you're running away from me like I just tried to rape you."   
  
They were in an alcove. Not many people were passing by, but just enough so that they were raising some eyebrows. All of the sudden, Summer halted. Spinning around, she shot him her death glare. Once upon a time, it had frightened him to the verge of tears. It still sent shivers down his spine, but after seeing her use it so often and never acting upon any of her threats, it no longer affected him the same way.  
  
"That's *not* funny," she spat.  
  
"Then make up your freaking mind!" Seth shouted. A short burst of unamused laughter spouted from her cherry-red lips.  
  
"*I* can't make up *my* mind?" she exclaimed. "You are such a *hypocrite*, Cohen! One minute you want me, the next minute you want Anna, the next minute you want both, the next minute you want neither. We've been telling you to make up your mind for weeks and you *still* haven't."  
  
"These things take time! What do you want me to do - flip a coin? I don't want to choose because I don't want to hurt either of you! I've said this already."  
  
"Well, stop saying. Stop talking - *do* something! Choose! Yeah, somebody's gonna get hurt, but that's nobody's fault - that's life. Stop being such a wuss and just tell me that you already chose Anna."  
  
Seth had been all prepared to yell right back, but Summer's comment stunned him into silence. "Wait..." he finally choked out. "You thought I chose Anna?" Summer looked confused.  
  
"Well...yeah," she said. "I saw you kiss her earlier, i just thought that...why wouldn't you be together?"  
  
"Summer...I chose *you*." Now it was Summer's turn for a shocked silence. If he had chosen her, then why the hell had he kissed Anna?   
  
"Wait...I get it now. She rejected you, so I'm sloppy seconds?"  
  
"No!" Seth exclaimed. "You'll never be sloppy anythings." He took a step closer. "Summer...all I've ever wanted is you."  
  
Damn him. Damn him and his sweet words and his effortless good looks. Summer was about to cry - she could feel it. And she wasn't *supposed* to cry. Damn him again. She needed to get away. Away from him and those eyes that made her melt. Damn!! Hadn't she promised herself just fifteen minutes ago that she was going to give up on Seth Cohen? Anna or no Anna, she and Seth together was just a bad idea. She couldn't deal with someone like him - someone who knew her so well, who could affect her so deeply. Summer was strong; independent. She didn't need someone like Seth in her life.  
  
So said her head. Her heart, however...  
  
"I just want to know," he was saying, and he was getting even closer. Oh, this was *bad*. "Do you...want me too?"  
  
Well, there it was - the question of the night. Did she, Summer Roberts, want Seth Cohen?  
  
Summer took a deep breath.  
  
"No." 


End file.
